NEWS 12 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE July 2025 The Groan Group, an internationally operating trading company in agricultural raw materials, and Aminola®, supplier of sustainable plant-based ingredients, announced a strategic partnership. Through Groan’s financial participation in Aminola®, the two companies are joining forces to build a future-proof, plant-based food chain. Aminola® and Groan share a clear ambition: To meet the growing demand for high-quality, plantbased ingredients. Over recent years, Aminola® has established itself as a trusted partner in the food, pet food and aquafeed markets. Recognising this expertise, Groan brings in its extensive trading knowledge and a strong global network. “We believe in Aminola®’s mission and see a natural alignment with our own core values,” said Anton de Groot, owner and Managing Director of Groan. “Together, we can accelerate, expand, and strengthen sustainable supply chains – with a particular focus on the growth markets of Food and Pet Food.” Aminola states that, for the company, the partnership represents a significant boost in achieving its mission to make sustainable plant-based ingredients widely accessible. “This collaboration gives our mission a real boost! Our partnership is centred on knowledge- sharing, joint investment, and unlocking new sources,” expressed Dick van Beek, CEO of Aminola®. Read more>> Researchers from University of Connecticut’s (UConn) College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) demonstrated that a novel protein-based nanoparticle can make mRNA vaccines more effective to tackle a troublesome pathogen in chickens. Mazhar Khan, Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, Challa V. Kumar, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Chemistry and graduate students Anka Rao Kalluri and Aseno Sakhrie collaborated over several years and published their findings in Vaccines. Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV), a rapidly spreading coronavirus, is a major concern for poultry farmers in the U.S. and worldwide, as they lose millions each year due to this disease. Currently, farmers use live attenuated vaccines or killed vaccines to combat the virus. However, these kinds of vaccine come with a series of challenges. The virus could reactivate, mutate, or recombine to create a vaccine-resistant or more severe strain. These vaccines also have a shorter shelf life and require additional compounds, known as adjuvants, to be effective. The researchers have developed an effective mRNA IBV vaccine alternative. mRNA vaccines, like the human COVID-19 vaccines, do not contain any live virus. Instead, the mRNA encodes a piece of the virus’ genetic code, specifically the spike protein that is responsible for triggering the immune response and trains the immune system to respond to the protein. Read more>> Groan and Aminola join forces to meet plant-based ingredient demand New nanoparticle mRNA vaccine targets IBV in chickens Photo: Aminola® Photo: Henrique S. Ruzzon for Unsplash
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